Tracy's Running Journal

Good Morning, It is Embarkment day!!!!!

Can you believe it? After all that planning embarkment day is finally here! Yay!!!! Which probably explains why Steve and I both got very little sleep during our night at the Radisson. For me it was a combination of sleeping in a hotel bed (I never sleep well away from home), not sleeping in a bed with my husband, being super excited about Wonder, and the anxiety about actually telling the kids we are going on a Disney cruise.

Steve and I were up at about 4:30 am. We looked at one another and said, “can’t sleep?” We decided to stay in bed because we did not want to wake the girls. At about 6:30, I could not take it any more. We grabbed our MacBook’s and played on the internet. The girls woke up around 7:30 am. I decided to get out of bed, shower and get ready for embarkment day.

Steve and I were dressed and ready to tell the girls. The girls were told by us liars that we would be going to the beach for the day. Here they are dressed and ready to go to the beach for the day:

Steve and I decided to walk outside to check out the weather.
We walked into our hotel room and said: “Girls, it really is not a beach day.” Seriously, it was beautiful sunny FL day.
Ashley says: I know what we can do! We can go to AK.
Elise yells: Lets go to Epcot
We say: Na, we have a better idea, How about we go on a Disney cruise?

Their response:
Ashley starts jumping up and down and starts yelling “Yes, yes, yes.”
Elise yells no, runs into the bathroom and shuts the door.

Ummm Elise, that is not quite response I was looking for. Apparently, she watched the movie Titanic way too many times. She was afraid the Wonder would sink like the Titanic. Fortunately, we will be clear of icebergs since it is the month of April. Phew, close one!

After talking Elise off the ledge and stopping Ashley from the constant jumping up and down with excitement, we decided to take a ride to get some breakfast. We found a Dunkin Donuts down the road so we stopped there. I just got a coffee, the girls got a donut and milk, Steve got an egg sandwich and milk. This DD was super crowded, so we ate outside. There was a family also sitting at the table outside and it was clear that they just returned from there time at sea. Both the mom and daughter each had braids and beads in their hair. I wondered if they just got off the Wonder or not.

After our much needed breakfast break, we went back to the Radisson to put our luggage tags on and move the suitcases over to the car. After all that, we still had a little time to kill so I took the girls for a walk around the hotel to check things out, while Steve had some alone time (aka peace and quiet).

Before we knew it, it was time to head over to the front desk for our shuttle. Steve drove us to the front desk with all the luggage and then parked the car in the lot for people going to port.

When I first made the reservation at the Radisson I asked to be put on the first shuttle leaving the Radisson. When I checked in yesterday, I confirmed that our names were on the list and they told me yes and I needed to be in the lobby at 9:45 am. As we were impatiently waiting, the Radisson employee started calling off names. Gues what happens next? He did not call our name!!!!

What????

I approached him and explained that we should be on the list. I told him that just yesterday my name was on the list.

Ah, there you are. He points to the first name on the list.

I guess he skipped over us for some odd reason. Thank goodness, we are ready to go.

The shuttle pulls up, we load our bags onto the trailer and board the shuttle. Our driver was, Bong. I kid you not, his name was Bong. Do you think that was his real name? Bong got us to Port Canveral safe and sound. Here is what we saw while on the shuttle:

What is that? Could it be the Wonder? Yes, it is. There is no mistaking a Disney ship for another cruise ship.

When we got off the shuttle, we tipped Bong. We made sure Bong actually gave our bags to Disney CM’s and we walked toward the terminal.

We need to show a photo ID before entering the terminal. We were given clearance and walked in. At this point we needed to pass through security. Here is the greatest tip I learned on the Dis. We put some beer and wine coolers in our rolling cooler. Disney allows this as long as there is no ice in the cooler. Steve placed the cooler on the x-ray machine and informed the security officer that there was no ice in the cooler and it scanned right through. No questions asked. How cool is that? Your very own BYOB on DCL.

We entered the terminal and there was hardly anyone there. We walked right over the many open clerks waiting for the mad rush. I gave the CM our boarding passes and told him that we checked in online. He checked our passports and printed our on-line check in info. and gave us boarding number 3. I guess boarding one is for special people,VIP’s or something like that. I am not sure how you get that number, but we got a great number. Boarding 2 is the general public, followed, by 3 and so on. Then they sent us to the next line.

The next line was to get our pictures taken for the our KTW card. He took my picture and I was not even paying attention. I did not see the photo and hope I never do. I thought he would say something like, smile. Nope he snapped it while I was still in awe with the terminal. I was not even paying attention to what he was doing at all. I was in shock when he said ok, you are all set. Huh???

Next line was to get the kids registered for the clubs and get the pager. That line took slightly longer then I thought, lots of explanation for a simple pager. Anyway, we got it and left the line.

All we had left to do was wait. So we took pictures:

See how not crowded the terminal was? Wait a few more minutes and you will disagree.

At about 11:45 they started the boarding announcement. We grabbed our stuff and waited by the boarding area. As soon as they started boarding 3, we were there in line. We gave them our KTW and we were allowed to enter.

They took our family picture (which came out awful) and then announced us. The Disney Wonder welcomes The Bergeron Family and everyone claps. You feel like a celebrity!

They asked where we wanted to have lunch, Parrot Cay (pronounced Key) or Beach Blanket. We (or should I say, “I”) picked Parrot Cay.

Lunch was a huge buffet and it was fabulous. Here are some pictures.

The girls took more food then their stomach could handle and Steve was telling them not waste. Take only what you are going to eat, etc. It was about that point where I ordered him one of these:

It was the drink of the day, Bahama Mama. We are on vacation, relax.

After lunch, we went up to deck 9 to let the kids swim for awhile. More pics:

I watched the kids while Steve took pictures. The Mickey pool was getting crowded so we moved to the Goofy Pool.

Soon, people were everywhere and it was finally 1:45 so I knew we would be allowed in our rooms. I was so sick and tired of lugging around 2 laptop bags, a cooler, and the kids each had their carry on’s. Way too many bags, never again. That should be another tip. Avoid too many carry on bags!!!!! Talk about PITA.

We rallied the troops and headed to our new home away from home.

Up next..... our room. Will we like it? Will it be big enough for a family of four? Wait and see.

I have video footage of the surprise, but I have to figure out how to upload it. I will post as soon as I figure that out.